Ever wish your cell phone could send an 800MHz radio message?

To support preparedness activities, Indiana has invested in communication technologies.  The state passed legislation establishing 800 MHz radio communications as a standard for emergency organizations.  The statewide network of 800 MHz transmission towers is complete and key state agencies and organizations are using 800 MHz radios.  In addition to 800 MHz radio technology, Indiana has also made major investments in other communication and video technologies.  While the communication investments were very successful and met their objectives, there were gaps in communicating with different devices.  For example, we had situations where we needed to communicate using an 800 MHz radio but it was not programmed with the correct talk groups; we even had situations where the correct type radio was not available.  To address these gaps we developed a pilot project to support communications across different devices.  This required establishing common communications protocols across push-to-talk devices (800 MHz, VHF low band, etc.) traditional phones (cell, analog, satellite) and IP phones.  Long term we also wanted the ability to integrate high compression video into the environment.  We decided on an approach that converted voice (and video) to an IP based signal that could be transmitted in a secured environment through the state backbone.  In addition to device integration, we needed the ability to manage the environment and quickly provide appropriate access rights to create the necessary communication bridges.  We used a product called IPICS to provide the necessary integration.  By leveraging the state’s investment in communications technologies and the state backbone, we were able to deliver the pilot project with a relatively small investment.  In the presentation, we will provide an overview of the project and demonstrate its capabilities.